PARSIPPANY, N.J. — A growing number of patients on Medicaid are filling their prescriptions through Managed Medicaid plans instead of the fee-for-service model as states switch them over in an effort to improve patient care and cut healthcare costs, but the effects remain unclear, according to a new study.

The study, "Shift from Fee-for-Service to Managed Medicaid: What is the Impact on Patient Care?," by the IMS Institute of Healthcare Informatics, a division of IMS Health, focused on Kentucky, New Jersey, New York and Ohio, finding that nearly half of all Medicaid patients are on Managed Medicaid plans; the four states were chosen because they had experienced a dramatic shift to Managed Medicaid plans since 2011. IMS said the lack of consistent and measurable change could mean that efforts to improve care and lower costs for Medicaid beneficiaries had yet to be fully realized despite early signs that the shift was affecting some care.

"Managed Medicaid is seen by many states as a way to deliver better preventive care at a lower cost, and recent actions to reduce use of fee-for-service plans has been significant," IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics executive director Murray Aitken said. "While it is still early days, our research reveals some important signs of impact."

Findings in the report included greater use of generic antipsychotic drugs in all the states analyzed when those drugs were available, meaning patients in Managed Medicaid plans were likely to use generic antipsychotics at a rate 3% to 14% higher than those in fee-for-service plans.

Drugs for certain diseases were prescribed at higher rates in some states than in others. In New York, patients who switched to Managed Medicaid plans received 5% more prescriptions for diabetes conditions, including 13% greater use of the common diabetes drug metformin. In Kentucky, Managed Medicaid patients had a 5% higher rate of prescriptions for respiratory drugs, compared with a 1% increase among patients in Ohio and New Jersey.

Still, the study found little or no change among patients who switched to Managed Medicaid plans, or found that they experienced changes consistent with those who stayed in fee-for-service plans. In New Jersey, the average diabetes prescription use per patient declined 2% for patients in both plans, while use of antipsychotics in Ohio declined by 1% for both groups.

The study also found significant variations in Medicaid patient access across states and disease areas, reflecting differences in clinical practice, Medicaid program design and patient profiles. In New Jersey, use of antipsychotics for fee-for-service patients is 40% lower than in the other states, while Managed Medicaid patients show 40% greater use of respiratory medicines.

The study was presented at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s annual meeting in San Diego last week.

BioPlus adds 2-hour guarantee to patient referrals

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — BioPlus Specialty Pharmacy will notify physicians within two hours whether a patient has been accepted for treatment, the company said.

BioPlus said the new "2-Hour Patient Acceptance Guarantee" program would let physicians know if their patients could be admitted pending insurance qualifications or would not be admitted and triaged to another pharmacy.

"Patients who are referred to a specialty pharmacy face complex conditions," BioPlus senior director of admissions Amanda Brown said. "It’s a scary time for patients, and the last thing they need is to wait days wondering if their specialty — and possibly life-saving — medication can be filled at our pharmacy."

The company said it would back the guarantee by donating $10 to the patient foundation of the physician’s choice for every referral that takes more than two hours to process, as well as $2 for every referral processed within two hours.

RELATED NEWS

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic of Hoffman-La Roche’s Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) capsules from Lupin. The company’s generic will be available in 30-, 45- and 75-mg dosage strengths.
The product is inficated to treat acute, uncomplicated influenza A and B in patients 2 weeks of age and older, as well as to prevent influenza A and B in patients 1 year old and older. The drug had U.S. sales of roughly $467.8 million for the 12 months ended October 2017, according to IQVIA data.

Behavioral health pharmacy and telepsychiatry company Genoa, a QoL Healthcare Company, has reached a big number with its remote psychiatry offering. The Tukwila, Wash.-based company announced Tuesday that it had facilitated more than 100,000 telepsych consultations on its video conferencing platform.
Genoa attributes the milestone to its recent buildup of its telepsychiatry operations, which grew to include 35 in 2017 from 20 at the start of the year, and included 250 providers. In 2017, the company grew to serve more than 2,500 patients per week.

This year's flu continues to be Texas big, according to the Walgreens Flu Index released Wednesday, as the top 10 communities experiencing the greatest amount of flu incidence were all located in the Lone Star State for the week ended Jan. 6.
Iowa, Idaho and Arkansas rank behind Texas in terms of flu activity. And Montana, Idaho and Iowa ranked highest among states experiencing flu activity gains.

Amneal Biosciences has launched its generic of Otsuka’s Busulfex (busulfan injection, 6 mg/ml). The product is indicated to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia.
Amneal said that its generic is available in cartons of eight single-dose vials, each of which contains 60 mg of the drug in a 10-ml clear sterile solution. The product is made without natural rubber, latex, gluten or preservatives, Amneal said.
The drug had U.S. sales of roughly $80 million for the 12 months ended October 2017, according to data from IQVIA.

Amneal Pharmaceuticals has launched sevelamer carbonate tablets, 800 mg, in 270-count bottles. This generic from the Bridgewater, N.J.-based company is an AB-rated therapeutic equivalent to Renvela.
Amneal also launched five other products in addition to sevelamer carbonate:

Forgotten Password

Registration complete

REGISTER

USERNAME *

Spaces are allowed; punctuation is not allowed except for periods, hyphens, and underscores.

E-MAIL ADDRESS *

A valid e-mail address. All e-mails from the system will be sent to this address. The e-mail address is not made public and will only be used if you wish to receive a new password or wish to receive certain news or notifications by e-mail.

Password *

Confirm Password *

Please choose a password for your account; it must be 8 - 30 characters. .

First Name *

Last Name *

Company Name *

Job Title *

ZIP *

Are you a *

Retailer or Healthcare professional

Non-Retailer

How many stores do you operate?: *

Which best describes the business/industry you work in?: *

Which best describes your job title?: *

Please select the newsletters you would like to subscribe to

DSN A.M.
Daily news stories covering the retail drug industry

Breaking News
First-to-the-market with developing stories in the industry